How to Grow BIG Plants
limiting the need to apply chemical pesticides ( the goal of IPM ). Insects that threaten the health of your plants ( i . e ., spider mites ), on the other hand , would be identified as organisms you ’ re trying to prevent .
Once you ’ ve finished the identification process , it ’ s important to assign “ action thresholds ” or levels of a particular pest ’ s presence you ’ re willing to accept before acting . For the indoor grower , a single pest would likely warrant control to avoid a larger infestation . This step is much more applicable to agricultural settings or outdoor cannabis growers .
Monitoring
Observing your plants on a frequent , consistent basis is vital to limiting harsh control measures . The earlier you spot one of the pests you identified as potentially harmful , the less likely you ’ ll need to use chemical pesticides . Whenever possible , a daily check of a few leaves ( both the top and bottom ), stems , soil , and the surrounding environment is ideal . It doesn ’ t have to be every single leaf on every single plant , but a sampling of different areas in your grow each day will help catch issues early on .
If daily monitoring seems like overkill , consider the lifecycle of an aphid . In proper environmental conditions , a single newborn female nymph is born pregnant . It develops the ability to asexually reproduce identical genetic clones of herself in approximately one week , at which point she can release five or six per day . Those clones can then do the exact same thing . That means , within three weeks , you can go from a single baby aphid to over a thousand .
Prevention
Always the best medicine , an ounce of prevention greatly reduces the need to deploy harsh chemicals . Sick plants , dirty grow rooms , limited airflow and extreme humidity levels are invitations for pests to come and play . Healthy plants provide a layer of protection , offering natural defenses that make an infestation more challenging . And by keeping areas clear of debris and buildup , there are fewer food sources and shelter for unwanted critters . Sanitize tools , remove dead or dying leaves , and avoid standing water .
Control
Regardless of the prevention measures put into practice , there ’ s always a chance that defiant pests rear their ugly heads . When that happens , intervention may be necessary through various control methods . These can broadly be categorized as Cultural , Mechanical , Biological , and Chemical , and should be considered in that order from most preferential to least preferential . Remember , the goal of IPM is to manage pest damage in the most economical and environmentally friendly way possible , doing everything possible to avoid chemical pesticides .
Cultural : Remove diseased , damaged , or infested plant material from the environment , starting with individual leaves or branches . Eliminate any areas where pests are breeding , such as standing water or oversaturated soil .
Mechanical : Hand-pick or finger-squash insects . Take your plants out of the grow environment and use a strong spray of water to knock off pests and their eggs ( this is more effective than you ’ d imagine ). Deploy sticky traps or light traps to attract and capture bugs .
Biological : Introduce predatory insects that feed on pests . Naturally occurring bacteria and microbes can kill insects in their larval stages .
Chemical : Spray insecticides , fungicides , and herbicides formulated to disrupt a pest ’ s natural development or kill it on contact .
Each part of an IPM program is not independent of the others , nor does it need to be performed in a linear fashion . All four steps can occur continuously and simultaneously . In some ways , many of us practice one or more components of IPM without even thinking about it , but a complete program emerges when they ’ re all incorporated together .
Instead of waiting for an outbreak to occur and then scrambling to find the right product to treat it , implementing a complete IPM program creates a culture of pest control , minimizing or even eliminating the need to reach for chemical pesticides . Because of IPM ’ s proactive nature , it can also reduce the negative impact to your plants if a pest wanders into your garden .
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